Spotlight
New Delhi, 6 January 2017
Goa Assembly Polls
FOCUS ON SPECIAL
STATUS?
By Eduardo Faleiro
The Election Commission has announced the dates for the
Assembly elections to Goa along with four
other States. February 4th is when the people of this tiniest State
will cast their vote for a change in the 40 member Assembly or for status quo. The
going may not be easy for the BJP as its ally the MGP has withdrawn support to
the Laxmikant Parsekar-led government and has decided to contest all 22 seats
this time. This, after two of its Cabinet ministers were sacked. Search for new
partners may be in the offing.
Will the BJP and its Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
have a rethink about raising the demand for Special Status for Goa, in the campaign this time? Recall when Parrikar was
Chief Minister he had sought this, but after getting to New Delhi he stated it was not possible to
get the demand.
Special status was also promised by the BJP at the time of
the last Assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections. Parrikar was then a minister.
Surprisingly when and how did he come to know that the grant of special status
was not possible for Goa? Did Parrikar speak
to the Prime Minister about it or did he raise the matter at the Union Cabinet
meetings? If so, what was the result?
People have a right to know.
Special status was sought for Goa
especially on two grounds. As a result of large scale purchase of land by
persons from outside Goa, including foreigners, the average Goan cannot afford
a house or land in Goa. Furthermore, there is
large scale migration into the State which may destroy Goa’s
identity.
The State Government has the required powers to resolve
these two issues. Land is a State subject vide entry 18 of the State List in
the Constitution and the State can also legislate on land vide entry 6 of the
Concurrent List. In addition, the 74th amendment to the Constitution
provides that the function of “regulation of land use and construction of
buildings” is one of the municipal functions.
As a result of these legal provisions a State is competent
to enact laws to restrict land transactions so as to protect the interests of
the local people. This protection may involve restrictions on purchase of
agricultural land by non-agriculturists as well as restrictions on purchase of
land and property by outsiders. Such legal provisions exist in several States.
Under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, no
person can purchase land in Maharashtra if he
is not an agriculturist. Similar provision also operates in Uttar Pradesh. Film
star Amitabh Bachchan purchased agricultural properties in both these States.
He had to surrender them as it was held that he was not an agriculturist. Why
is such a provision not enacted in Goa?
The right to property is no longer a fundamental right and
hence a law by the State Government to protect the interests of the local
population is unlikely to be declared null and void by any Court. According to
the RBI guidelines, foreigners cannot acquire immovable property in India
unless the concerned individual has established a place of business in this
country as per FERA or FEMA, the property is necessary to carry such business
and all applicable laws, rules, regulations and directions have been duly
complied with. It is found that many foreigners evade these requirements.
The National Security Council Secretariat has cautioned that
real estate projects by foreigners in Goa might include drug trafficking, gun
running and prostitution and that some foreign drug cartels are attempting to
turn Goa into a base for their activities.
Government should immediately scrutinize all land deals by foreigners and if
there is any illegality, confiscate the property and impose punishment on the
offender and his local associates, if any.
There is a genuine concern in Goa
about non-availability of housing to the sons of the soil, particularly those
belonging to the lower and middle income groups. The Supreme Court has held in
several cases that the State has a duty to provide adequate shelter to every
citizen so that the fundamental right to life is meaningful.
Affordable housing is a most important concern all across
the world. Planning mandates in the United Kingdom have generated
twenty to thirty percent of all affordable units built over the last decade. South Africa
distributes free plots for houses to its poor income group. Singapore
provides public housing for more than 80 percent of its population. Several
State Governments in India
assume as their primary responsibility, the provision of affordable housing to
the local people.
In Rajasthan, the previous State Government had made
available thousands of houses as well as plots to people belonging to different
income groups. Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot had proposed that
the statutory right to shelter be included in the Five Year Plan. Affordable
housing requires an efficient Housing Board, planning mandates, interest rate
subsidies and other financial devices to make housing affordable to all.
Another reason for demand of special status is the large
scale influx of migrants into the State. Goa
needs migrant labour. However, uncontrolled migration into the State can upset
its demographic composition and lead to social and economic problems. There are
several laws to control migration into the State but these laws are not being
implemented effectively and remain largely on paper. The Interstate Migrant
Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act of 1979, The
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act of 1970 and the Goa Daman and
Diu Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Rules 1982 are some such laws.
The 1979 Act provides for registration of all contractors
who employed five or more interstate migrants on any day of the preceding
twelve months. The contractors must furnish details of the workmen, issue a
pass book with passport size photograph to every workman indicating where he is
working and other details. The State Government is required to appoint
inspectors to oversee implementation of the Act. The law directs builders and
labour contractors to provide residential accommodation, sanitation and other
facilities to the workers engaged by them. Yet, these provisions are ignored
and much of the migrant labour lives in slums under the most unhygienic
conditions which pose major health hazards to the migrants as well as to the
local people.
All migrant workers should be registered compulsorily in the
Panchayats and Municipalities. Aadhar cards as well as Public Distribution
System (PDS) cards should be issued to them to avoid having to buy food grains
and kerosene at high prices. The State Government should hold a yearly audit of
all contractors who employ migrant workers and submit a report to the State
Legislature for its scrutiny. It should also open an Internet portal indicating
the contractors and migrant workers in Goa for
public information and verification. The machinery for implementation of the
Labour legislation needs to be strengthened urgently.
Sadly, while the outsiders have been enjoying Goa’s beauty, its own people and migrant workers are
living a miserable life. A Special Status will be crucial to control all these
troubles. Will the political parties make this an election issue or put it in
the backburner? The coming weeks will tell. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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